In the centre of the panel the Archangel Michael is shown upon a red horse with red wings. Michael’s face is also red. He is clothed in golden armour, wearing a crown and blowing on a trumpet. He holds a rainbow above his head, along with a closed Gospel in his right hand. His left hand holds a lance with which he is pinning down Satan in a dark abyss. The destruction of a city – representing Babylon, the ‘world’ (cf. Rev. 18:21) - can also be seen in the darkness, with buildings collapsing in flames. The iconography derives from a number of sources, but the main text is Revelation 12:7-12, In the top left corner we see a youthful Christ Emmanuel (Logos) surrounded by clouds symbolising the celestial sphere. Before him is a throne (hetoimaisia) with a Gospel and a Cross. The icon thus depicts the decisive eschatological battle against Evil.

The reforms of the Russian Patriarch Nikon in 1653, aiming to unify Greek and Russian church practices caused a schism in the Russian Orthodox Church. The Old Believers, as they came to be known, could not accept the changes and formed a separate church. They were known for their ultra conservative views and were much persecuted. Many went into exile. Today, their importance is recognised for having preserved the antiquity of icons. Many ancient works were saved and restored by them. Icons from their workshops avoided any innovation.

We read in Benchev ‘From the 17th century a new imagery appears in Russian iconography: the Archangel Michael presented as a crowned prince of all angels, the great warrior and the conqueror of the devil’.[1] However, while this form of depicting the Archangel Michael became popular in the 17th century, some Russian art historians and theologians consider that the subject originates in the 1550s.[2] The theme is discussed further in a Russian catalogue.[3] There it is thought that the iconography in this form appears only in the second half of the 17th century during the dramatic church reforms of the time. These provoked in the populace a dread of the imminent end of the world.

What makes the present icon distinguishable is the orderly composition of all the symbolic elements with no distracting detail. The colours are symbolical: gold associated with holiness and splendour of the knight, red with life and sacrifice and black with the dark forces of the devil. The composition is finely balanced and symmetrical with Michael placed on the central axis of the picture plane. The icon is precious not only for the inspired execution but also for its subject matter profoundly associated with Old Believers.

[1] Ivan Benchev Icons of Angels, Interbook, 2005, p. 91

[2] Alisa Oleva, http://www.thetemplegallery.com/getfullpage.php?stockno=1325

[3] Icons from the Private Collections" (Tetru, 2004, p. 227): ‘Iconography of Archangel Michael as the knight of Apocalypse.’